2023-12-18 18:28:00
Un “holiday call”, and a “recurring request”. While the French have their first drink on average at the age of 14, Addictions France and the League Against Cancer are warning this Monday of the dangers of alcohol consumption among adolescents.
The two associations have each conducted their own survey, and the figures speak for themselves. Four out of ten parents say, for example, that they have already introduced their teenager to an alcoholic drink, 55% of French people consider it acceptable for minors to consume alcohol from the age of 15 and 70% of them consider it possible to let them drink. during the end of year celebrations.
“It’s a danger,” recalls Bernard Basset, president of Addictions France and doctor specializing in public health. We trivialize alcohol consumption among young people, even though it is not at all trivial. Children are accustomed from the age of 14 to this social norm which requires that we consume alcohol as soon as it’s a party. »
A “public health problem”
A trivialization which is coupled with great ease of access, despite the ban on the sale of alcohol to minors. Addictions France sent underage mystery shoppers to test 42 businesses in Loire-Atlantique. Only one establishment refused to provide them with alcohol.
“Adolescents can obtain alcohol without problem and the consumption of alcohol in a family environment is very widespread,” points out Yana Dimitrova, of the League Against Cancer. It is both accepted and commonplace among minors… 30% of 17-year-olds consume it with their parents. It is a public health problem. »
Early consumption of alcohol indeed leads to various harmful consequences, both in the short and long term. In addition to encouraging risky behavior leading to road accidents, sexual violence or comas, it increases the risk of dependence.
“The brain completes its development around 24-25 years of age,” explains Bernard Basset. Early consumption leaves reactivable imprints on their brain in the reward circuit. With alcohol, like the rest of psychoactive substances, the earlier you start, the more likely you are to have consumption problems in adulthood, to be in excess or addicted. »
Inaction of public authorities
Tobacco acts in the same way on the brains of adolescents, whose addiction is known to be much deeper when it begins early. But if the government deploys massive means to fight against this scourge – banning puffs, increasing prices, communication campaigns – the associations deplore that the same is not true for alcohol.
“In France, the campaign for the “January challenge” is only carried out by associations, without support from the government,” criticizes Yana Dimitrova. It is not normal. There is very strong interference from alcohol manufacturers who manage to push back public measures. However, we need a real national plan. The government must address this issue. »
49,000 deaths per year
Because although alcohol consumption has fallen since 2005, the figures have stagnated for several years. A quarter of the French population thus exceeds the recommendations of Public Health France – not to consume more than two glasses of alcohol per day, not every day and without exceeding ten per week. Adolescents are not spared: according to the League Against Cancer, almost half of 17-year-olds have experienced an episode of heavy drinking in the last month.
However, recalls Yana Dimitrova, “alcohol is far from being safe for health”. In addition to facilitating the appearance of eight cancers, including that of the liver and the digestive system, it would have a role in the development of breast cancer. 16,000 people die each year from preventable cancer caused by alcohol. And by adding the cardiovascular, hepatic, neurological, digestive and psychiatric risks, in total, there are 49,000 deaths attributable to it each year.
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